Let's Talk About
Vibe Coding
Using natural language to prompt AI tools to generate, debug, and evolve code — no CS degree required.
What is your Experience?
What Is Vibe Coding?
Describing what you want in plain language and letting an AI tool write the code for you.
Natural Language In
You describe what you want — a webpage, a game, a tool — in your own words. No syntax required.
Working Code Out
The AI generates functional code — from small CSS fixes to entire applications and interactive sites.
Where the Term Came From
"There's a new kind of coding I call 'vibe coding,' where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists."
— Andrej Karpathy, Co-founder of OpenAI · X post February 2025Early LLMs could generate code snippets, but by 2025 the capability had evolved to writing full programs — and the term stuck.
How It Works
Imagine
Think of something you'd like to build — a webpage, interactive activity, game, or tool.
Describe
Write a detailed natural-language description for an AI tool. Clarity here saves iteration later.
Generate
The AI produces code — anything from a stylesheet tweak to a complete application.
Iterate
Review, refine, and ask for changes. Vibe coding is conversational — you build in rounds.
Ship
Host your creation and share it — in a GitHub repository or a platform like Lovable with built-in hosting.
My Journey
Early experiments at Bethel
Used early LLMs to generate small CSS snippets for web maintenance tasks — results were mixed, but promising.
Inspiration from librarians
Encountered colleagues vibe coding custom websites for library instruction and presentations — the results were impressive and effective.
Diving in at UST
Fired up Claude to see how hard it would be to create my own instruction tools. Turns out — very doable.
What I've Built
Four projects created through vibe coding — we'll look at each one live.
Research Process Site
Iterative coil-spring visualization walking students through research steps
InstructionPlagiarism Scenarios
Interactive cases helping students identify and understand academic integrity issues
WorkshopVocabulary Game
Gamified learning tool for discipline-specific terminology
EngagementDecision Simulator
Claude-powered interactive activity that generates scenarios on the fly and incorporates student responses
Interactive ActivityTips to Get Started
Start simple
Pick something you can visualize clearly — a game, an activity, a single-page site.
Be precise in your prompt
Code generation is resource-intensive. Invest time upfront describing exactly what you want and don't want — you can even use an LLM to refine your prompt first.
Use the best model available
More capable models produce better, more reliable code in fewer tries.
Plan to learn
You'll encounter unknowns — file structure, programming languages, deployment. Ask the LLM to explain step by step, then verify with your own sources.
Own what you don't know
Build a relationship with your ITS team. You don't want to create security problems on your machine or in your web presence.
Keep things organized
Version your projects. Label iterations clearly. You will want to roll back at some point — make sure you can.
Some Limitations
Token & Credit Limits
Even paid plans have ceilings. Free tiers run out fast. Plan your sessions and budget accordingly.
Your Own Knowledge
AI works best when it enhances existing expertise. For critical tasks, ensure you have the skills to evaluate whether outputs are safe and of high quality.
Context Awareness
By default, AI doesn't know your LMS restrictions, campus security policies, university branding guidelines, or system configurations.
Hosting & Access
Unless you use a platform with built-in hosting, you'll need to figure out how to make your creation accessible to others.
Tools to Try
A few places to start experimenting:
Example Prompts
Here are the starting prompts behind each project demoed in this presentation. These are not perfect prompts and none produced a final, unedited result, but they each produced a solid first draft. Click to expand and see the full prompt text for each.
Now Go Build Something
You don't need to be a developer. You just need a clear idea and the willingness to iterate. The tools are ready — are you?